


Put It in Words (You Are in Love)

by Lightning5



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Transferred from Tumblr, prompts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-02
Updated: 2018-02-18
Packaged: 2018-04-12 15:35:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 17,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4484939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lightning5/pseuds/Lightning5
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is for <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/users/damndonnergirls">damndonnergirls</a></p></blockquote>





	1. SPY

_For[virgemhoneyee](http://tmblr.co/mvKAoN4HWEJVNukhoLKFXiw) who requested a SPY-inspired Gadge AU. I tweaked it just a little bit. Well, more than a bit. Enjoy!_

* * *

“Alright, I’m in.”

“Please refrain from the hacker talk.”

“Oh, you would have said the same thing!”

“Nope. Now focus—you don’t have a lot of time to dawdle.”

“I know. Okay, got it.”

“Get ready, you’ve got company. Straight ahead.”

“Easy peasy. See you at the office.”

* * *

Gale walks back to his desk to find Madge sitting in his chair, a couple of the other agents congratulating her on last night’s mission. She smiles prettily and Gale listens as she thanks them.

“Don’t forget I couldn’t have done this all by myself,” she says, spinning his expensive chair to face him. “Agent Hawthorne’s my eyes and ears.”

“And I know everything,” he replies, standing next to her while the others begin to walk to their own desks. “Out of my chair.”

She pouts which might work on others but not him. “But it’s so comfortable.”

“Get your own then,” he smirks. She stands, only to perch herself on the edge of his desk as he tries to start the paperwork. He’s unsuccessful, so he leans back and crosses his arms. “You know if I wore a dress like yours last night I’d probably get the asset much faster.”

She throws her head back and laughs. “I doubt it.”

* * *

“Ready?”

She’s exiting the bathroom wearing a form-fitting black dress and heels. He’s fumbling with his tie and cursing under his breath. He was finally relieved of desk duty and for his first mission back he’s accompanying Madge as husband and wife on their honeymoon. Because of their newlywed status, they were given the honeymoon suite, which meant there was one bed, that they’d be _sharing_. Well, if the mission goes smoothly.

“Jesus,” he whispers, ready to ball up and fling the tie across the room.

She walks over like someone out of a movie and reaches up, slapping his hands out of the way to fix it for him. Gale tilts his head up to give her more room. She tells him to relax because he’s supposed to be _enjoying his honeymoon_. He tries, but he’s still nervous. His last solo mission resulted in two gunshot wounds and a few broken bones. He had a right to be nervous, okay?

She’s done with the tie but still staring up at him.

“What is it?”

She shakes her head as though to clear her thoughts.

“Nothing. I’m used to seeing you with a beard covering your face,” she smiles, lightly patting his clean shaven cheek. “Come on. We have a bad guy to catch.”

* * *

“Fuck!” she yells out in pain, gripping her shoulder. “Did you get it?”

“Got it,” he calls back, quickly checking the briefcase he pulled from the dead man’s grip. The others from the agency run into the room, weapons drawn. Gale thrusts the case into Cartwright’s arms before running to Madge, who’s being attended to. She’s grimacing, but containing her screams of pain better than Gale had when he’s been shot.

“It’s just a scratch, Undersee,” he jokes.

She glares at him while the medical personnel continues to work on her.

“I’ll show you a scratch, Hawthorne.”

“Looking forward to it. Remind me to kiss you when we’re back at the office.”

“I can’t wait that long.” With a tired a smile, she pulls him closer by grabbing the front of his shirt and kisses him.


	2. Love of Baseball Pants

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is for [damndonnergirls](http://archiveofourown.org/users/damndonnergirls)

_SMACK!_

Gale whips his head around to find the culprit who just slapped his ass, pretty hard if you asked him, but Madge is out of reach, already on the dance floor. He watches as Katniss takes a hold of her hand, both girls singing along to the 90s R&B song a brave soul is karaoking to on stage. He laughs it off, downs his drink and leaves the other guys at the table to join the small group. Finnick cheers and Peeta cracks a joke because both guys know Gale doesn’t dance, but he will for her, as cheesy as that sounds. Besides, it’s the All-Star Break and he’s allowed to have some fun, right?

Madge turns to him, smiling and slightly drunk, and almost stumbles but luckily he’s there to steady her. She reaches up, placing her hand around his shoulders, while he snakes his around her waist, swaying to the music. He tests the waters, lets his left hand slip lower and she raises her eyebrow, daring him. Fair’s fair. He gives her a light smack, which makes her throw her head back and laugh.

It was their little game. A game she started. Weeks ago, she asked why do the guys slap each other on the butt and all Gale could do was shrug and say it was normal in sports. Later that night, they won a game of beer pong against his teammates and Madge cheered while she gave him a firm slap on his behind. He returned the favor randomly a few days later during movie night.

They continue dancing until Madge pulls him back to the table, just in time for another drink. She settles into her chair next to Darius, while Gale takes her other side, hanging his arm around the back of her chair. She leans toward him, enabling him to smell her fruity shampoo as he sips his beer while she drinks her water.

The other couples come back from the dance floor and Annie makes a comment of how cute they look together that has Gale feeling smug, going as far as to wink at Annie while Madge covers her face in his shoulder.

He gives Katniss his “Dad” glare (her words, not his) after she takes a picture of the pair. She makes sure to send it to him. He posts it on his rarely used Instagram.

* * *

 

  _Hit a homerun for me._

It’s her way of telling him good luck and Gale can’t help the smile that he’s sporting as he follows Peeta into the clubhouse. They’ve always texted, even more often since last Saturday night.

_Will do :)_

“What’s got you grinning?” Finnick asks, tucking his practice jersey into his baseball pants. “Your girlfriend?”

Gale flips him off as he passes to get to his locker. Finnick’s been giving him grief about Madge, wondering why he hasn’t sealed the deal.

“ _Madge_ ,” he stresses. “is doing just fine. She was just telling me good luck.”

Finnick waggles his eyebrows. “Luck, huh? Is she promising you an reward after the game?”

Gale rolls his eyes. Pulling his sliding shorts on after adjusting himself in his cup, he warns the older man to watch it or he will tell his wife.

Finnick scoffs. “Annie? The mother of my children? The one who can’t stop talking about the two of you? If _you_ don’t watch it, she’s going to invite you for dinner just to have an intervention.”

Gale doesn’t doubt it.

* * *

 

The game ends on a high note, thanks to the closer, Thresh, who comes in during the ninth inning with a runner in scoring position and strikes out the next three batters to secure the win. Checking his phone, he finds three messages from Madge.

_7:20 P.M.: The girls in front of us can’t stop talking about your butt. Katniss is disgusted._

_7:22 P.M.: Should I tell them you wear butt pads? I think yes._

_8:43 P.M.: Thanks for the homerun ;)_

Walking out into the waiting crowd of fans will always be a surreal experience for Gale; especially when there’s a few waiting for him. Finnick, as usual, takes it in stride, poses with people over the thin rope that separates the players from fans. Once the autograph seekers head out, Gale turns to find Peeta already wrapping his arms around Katniss, who is kissing him hello, while Madge playfully rolls her eyes. Gale makes sure to rub the top of his cousin’s head as he passes. He doesn’t need to look back to know she’s scowling.

Instead, he focuses on the blonde sporting a Dodgers jersey and jean shorts, thanks to the humidity of SoCal weather. He envelops her in his arms, lifting her up for a second just to hear her laugh. Without realizing it, the tiredness and soreness from tonight’s game seeps away and he feels even better.

* * *

 

He texts her, asking if it’s okay to come over. She responds with a yes, saying she’s already home from dinner with her father.

He’s a little bummed because they didn’t do so well tonight and he went 0 for 3 offensively, so that didn’t help his mood. He pulls up in front of the small house to find her waiting on her porch, wearing a blue dress and wedges, her hair thrown up in a high bun.

He gets out of his car and sighs as he walks toward her.

“Suck it up, Gale. You’re allowed a bad game,” she says, leaning against the column.

“I know. I know,” he mutters, running his hand through his hair. He hated losing, especially to a rival team. She’s right. One bad game and that’s it. She takes a step toward him and lets him place his hands around her waist and bury his head into her shoulder, letting out another sigh, although this time it’s exaggerated. He chuckles when she attempts to squirm away.

He loosens his grip and murmurs, “Pretty dress.” She’s scratching the back of his head and neck, making him want to close his eyes.

“That’s why I bought it,” she quips. She pulls him into the house as he calls her a smart ass.

It’s just the two of them. Her housemate, Delly, is over at her boyfriend’s for the night. Entering the living room, he sees the game is on, obviously a replay from earlier. He catches himself on screen squatting behind home plate, looking toward the dugout for the next pitch sign to relay to the pitcher on the mound. The channel quickly changes and he turns to find a sheepish Madge with the remote. He shrugs it off. She didn’t get to see the game after all.

They settle onto the couch as Madge searches for something—anything besides the game. He takes in the proximity and decides to pull her into his side. So he likes to cuddle, sue him. She grumbles, sounding eerily like her Uncle Haymitch, who Gale met two months ago at her birthday party.

He’s really not focused on the  _Modern Family_  episode she finds, but rather her as she rests against him after taking her wedges off to curl her legs under her. The fact that she’s tracing circles on his chest is not helping.

“Gale,” she whispers, lifting her upper body from him, but he’s already following her, cupping her face and suddenly she closes the distance and they’re kissing. All thoughts about the game fly out the window when she manuevers herself onto his lap and grinds against him causing him to groan into her mouth. She hums as she tugs on his bottom lip before letting go to pull back. Her lips are red and swollen and Gale’s sure his are the same because her eyes are moving from his to look down at them. She’s catching her breath and looks like she’s steeling herself to say something.

Suddenly nervous, he asks if she’s alright because he’s not. She’s still on his lap and he _really_ wants to get back to what they started.

“I don’t want this to be a one time thing,” she blurts out. She’s gripping his shoulders and he waits with baited breath. “You’re a professional baseball player. You can have anyone you want—”

“Trust me, I want you,” he interjects, keeping his hold on her as he sits up. “Ever since Opening Day when I saw you in the stands. Hell, remember the BBQ at my uncle’s? I was so caught up getting to know you I forgot to ask for your number. I had to beg Katniss for it,” he adds, letting out a laugh as she smiles shyly, pushing him back so he rests comfortably against the cushions, following him so they’re chest to chest. “The fact that you have a jersey with my name on it— _fuck_.”

She’s distracting him with the way she’s rolling her hips and kissing behind his ear. “Your uniform does it for me too,” she whispers and Gale stands up, makes sure she’s holding on and asks where the bedroom is.

After, Gale stays in her embrace, careful not to rest entirely on her, both catching their breaths. She’s running her hands through his sweaty hair when he lifts his head up.

“Were you smacking my ass?”

She shakes her head, her blonde hair spread about because Gale had to get it out of that bun. Before she answers, he rolls them so she’s resting on him.

“I grabbed it. There’s a big difference,” she adds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last line is a reference from The Fast and Furious franchise. Specifically, Fast Five.


	3. The Only Angel...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...if you were to ask Gale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For [damndonnergirls](http://archiveofourown.org/users/damndonnergirls/pseuds/damndonnergirls)

Madge’s taking her new clothes out of their bags when Gale enters the room, looking like he’s ready to keel over.

“Remind me never to babysit for Katniss ever again,” he says, making his way to his side of the bed. Madge was sympathetic enough to not place her clothes there.

“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad,” she replies, having babysat the toddlers a few times.

“I don’t know. I think I got them on a bad day. Willow wasn’t in the mood to do anything I said and Rye doesn’t  _walk_ , he  _runs_. So I had to chase him to make sure he doesn’t bump into anything,” he adds, flopping face down.

Madge rolls her eyes. “Sounds like a normal day. I think you’re getting old.”

She giggles when he pops his head up to give her an affronted look. “I’m in my prime!”

“Sure, sure.” She brings the bright pink Victoria’s Secret bag up from the floor. Gale widens his eyes, but doesn’t say anything. Instead he lowers his head to his pillow and watches her rummage through. Obviously not finding what she’s looking for, she sets  _another_   _Victoria’s Secret_  bag on the bed.

“Was there a sale?”

She looks amused, because when is there not a sale at  _Victoria’s Secret_? She got her usual stash of new cotton undies with lace trim, but decided to get something more that she knew Gale would appreciate and judging by his tone he knew what was coming.

“There was,” she replies as she unbuttons her blouse when Gale practically leaps from his spot to land right in front of her. She’s taken by surprise because for someone claiming to be tired, he wasn’t showing it.

“I can help you with that,” he says, carefully taking the blouse off from her shoulders and throws it behind him. She rolls her eyes at his eager expression.

She gives him a kiss before heading to the bathroom with the pink bag. “I think I can do it myself.”

She ends up taking her time to make sure it looks good and fits because you never know with dressing room mirrors these days. She opted for a black lace set and  _holy shit_  did she look amazing. She pulled her hair out of her bun, repeatedly running her fingers through the waves it created, letting her hair down her back. She gives herself a once over before she walks out.

Madge pokes her head through the door to see him in the same position she left him in, leaning back on his hands as he waited. She notices that he put the clothes she left on the bed into the laundry basket.

“Cover your eyes,” she tells him. He complies by actually  _shielding_  his eyes from the nonexistent Sun, causing her to laugh as he grins back at her.

“Okay, okay. I’ll close them.”

One he does, she tiptoes into the room and stands in front of him. She takes his right hand and lets it trail over the fabric from her shoulder down to her waist. His eyes remain close as he breathes deeply and her breath hitches when his rough fingertips graze her skin.

“Madge,” he croaks, placing his hands against her bare back to bring her closer so she stands between his legs. She tells him to open his eyes.

“ _Shit_ ,” he murmurs, standing up suddenly. He gets her blushing when he says how beautiful she looks. He tears his shirt off, gathers her in his arms and while giving her a sweet kiss he surprises her again by picking her up and gently laying her on the bed before following.

“Please wear this all the time. I’ll buy you more if I have to,” he adds, kissing the tops of her breasts. Her laugh turns into a moan that gets her to agree with him.

She should model for him more often. Hell, next time she’ll make him model for her.


	4. Meeting for the First Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Madge had Gale at pasta salad if he's going to be honest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For [Billy_Crystal](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Billy_Crystal), who requested more from the severely neglected [Changeup universe](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2400644/chapters/5307764) .

As soon as he gets to the Everdeen home, Gale immediately heads to the kitchen table where most of the food is set only to have his mother smack his hand, stating that they have guests and he should introduce himself.

"Ma," Gale protests but his mom wouldn't hear of it. Instead, she points toward the door that leads to the backyard. He's hungry and tired from today's afternoon game but his mood disappears after he bangs the door open and he didn't realize someone was on the other side making their way in.

Gale becomes embarrassed when it turns out to be Katniss' friend. The one she brought to his game two weeks ago. He feels himself getting red as he quickly apologizes and she waves it off.

He's still saying his sorry when Katniss comes by with a plate of raw hot dogs and burgers for her dad to grill.

"Well looks like you two have met," she smirks and Gale just knows she witness the whole thing from the kitchen. "Gale, this is Madge. Madge, Gale."

He offers a sweaty hand for her to shake, which she does with a firm grip. He's still shaking her hand when Katniss clears her throat. He lets go while Madge suppresses a smile. His cousin gives him a puzzled look before giving him the plate, instructing him where to take it as if he didn't know.

"And stop being weird," she adds before following Madge inside. "You're freaking me out."

He rolls his eyes and waits for the door to close so he could berate himself for acting like a fool. It doesn't help that his uncle is laughing along with his dad when he walks up to the grill.

He knows he shouldn't but he grabs a third helping of his mom's pasta salad. He turns to see Madge with her own bowl.

"I think I've found my weakness," she tells him with a sheepish look. His heart lurches because he thinks she means him but it turns out she's talking about the pasta salad. He huffs out a laugh as she spoons a large amount.

"That makes both of us."

Once the grilling was done and all had eaten, everyone lounged in the living room watching the evening news. A typical Sunday in Gale's mind. Prim brought out Monopoly and Posy demanded that Peeta, who arrived after Gale with a cake causing the Hawthorne boys to snicker, help her play (so of course, they're winning).

Usually, Gale would sit on the couch to sit back and eat but he finds himself sitting adjacent to her at the table, his back to noises in the living room.

She digs in immediately while she asks,"How's the baseball life?"

He finds that she's easy to talk with. Her laugh is  _fuckin' adorable_  and he'll swear until his dying breath that he can get lost in her eyes. She gestures with her hands as she tells him a story about being a teacher's assistant at an elementary school, her fork waving wildly and he can't help but laugh along.

She finishes her bowl before he does and wonders if she can take the whole serving bowl with her for lunch tomorrow. He jokingly pushes the bowl away from her while she pouts and he's a goner.

It's not until she's left to go home (with a plastic container of pasta salad) when he realizes he forgot to ask for her phone number. He's usually doesn't but he'd like to get to know her more and he really doesn't want to stalk her social media.

A few days later, he does because on Instagram Katniss uploads a photo of her at Disneyland, sitting on a fake rock outside of the Indiana Jones ride, face in her hands.

_Temporally closed! @madge_undersee3 can never catch a break #indianajonesadventure_

So he goes to her page and taps on the follow button. He's leaving to go to practice when he gets the notification that  _@madge_undersee3_  now follows him. He heads to the stadium with a smile on his face.

After practice he tries to remedy the fact that he still doesn't have her number by texting Katniss for it.

_No_  is her immediate response.

_Come on! I hardly ask you for anything_!

He's getting his dinner ready when she finally responds.

_I swear to god if you do anything to hurt her I will fuck you up. I don't care about your contract._

Okay, he can respect girl code. But still— _Ouch. Feeling the love Kat_

_Hey, she got the same warning. Just much more nicely._

He gets two texts from an unknown number.

_Asking for my number, huh?_

_It's Madge if that wasn't clear lol_

Yup, he's a goner. A goner that's smiling like an idiot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Instagram photo is based on one of my own doing exactly that. Ha :)


	5. Sneaky, Sneaky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For [jennycaakes](http://archiveofourown.org/users/jennycaakes)

“Did you have any trouble?” she asks, ushering Gale into her apartment.

“No,” he says, shrugging his jacket off and placing it on the hook as she locks the door. She lets him grab her by the waist. “I’m very sneaky,” he whispers.

“Oh excuse me for forgetting that,” she replies, stealing a kiss. “How was it today?”

“Brutal,” he groans. “Why did I say yes to this?”

Madge leads him to the couch. Playing the title role of the Indiana Jones reboot was a tall order and Gale’s been working his ass off on stunts and has his fair share of bruises so she lets him rest his head on her lap.

“I mean, if you can’t handle it I’m more than happy to step in. It is 2015.”

Gale opens his eyes and locks in to her baby blues. “Honestly,” he starts. “You would be better than me.”

“You just want to see me in the hat.”

“It’s on my list. How’s Episode VIII?”

Madge rolls her eyes. “You know I can’t talk about that.”

“But there’s nothing in your contract that says you can’t tell your secret significant other,” Gale jokes. “At least tell me if you have a lightsaber or not!”

They’ve been together for a few months now and they’ve wanted to keep it quiet to avoid the media and their fans going into a frenzy like the first time when they starred in a music video together.

But Madge is getting tired of it. Tired off not being able to go to public places with Gale, making him sneak over to hers. Damn it she wants to let it be known that Gale Hawthorne, Future Indiana Jones, is indeed her boyfriend.

Gale’s sits up when he sees the look on her face. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing,” she quickly says.

“No, Madge. Talk to me. What’s going on?”

He grabs her hands and gives her a concerned look.

“I’ve just been thinking that maybe we should stop this sneaking around.”

“Like break up?”

Madge widens her eyes in surprise.

“No! Like we should be able to go out in public. Why should we hide anymore? I want to be seen with you! Don’t you want that?”

She waits while he contemplates and she’s ready to pull her hands away because she feels he’s taking too long. But then he’s smiling and pulling her into a kiss.

“I do,” he says between kisses and she giggles when he brings her on his lap. “You do realize we have to talk to Effie about this. She’s going to throw a fit.”

“I’ll bring reinforcements.”

“Haymitch?”

“Haymitch.”


	6. Babysitting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A night watching Thom and Delly's kids ends with an important question.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For [DandelionLass](http://archiveofourown.org/users/DandelionLass/works) The Jaws incident mentioned here is based on a true event.

“Are you sure you don’t mind?”

“Delly, I think we would have said no when you called,” Madge replies, ushering her friend and husband out the door.

“But—“

“Nuh-uh. Go or you’ll miss your reservation.”

At that, Delly takes a deep breath and lets Thom lead her to the car. It’s a rare occurrence that the parents of four had a night out that didn’t involve their children and Madge was more than happy to say yes when they couldn’t find a babysitter last-minute. Gale not so much.

_“I love those kids,” he starts, after Madge ends the phone call. “But I really wanted to go this game.”_

_“Stop whining,” Madge says, wrapping her arms around his neck.“We can go to another game. Give the tickets to Rory.”_

_“I don’t wanna,” he mumbles. He sighs when he sees the look she’s giving him. “Fine. I’ll text him.”_

Madge locks the door as they pull out of the driveway and makes her way into the living room when Beau almost collides into her.

“Whoa, buddy!” she exclaims as she lifts him up to rest against her hip, causing the boy to shriek. “Where are you going?”

Beau babbles and gestures toward the living room where Gale is holding his arms out in front like Frankstein’s monster, slowly following a laughing Nathan around the couch while Reese reads her book. Madge notes that Andrew must be in the room he shares with Nathan.

Madge looks back at Beau and he squirms to get out of her arms.

“Alright, alright,” she says as she lets him down. He immediately takes off. “Walk please!” Gale hears this and turns toward the still-running Beau, while Nathan attaches himself to Gale’s leg.

Madge rolls her eyes and plops down next to Reese. “Is it like this every night?”

Reese shrugs and grins at her. “Yeah, pretty much. But they’ll be tired after the movie.”

Beau was nearly asleep against Gale’s chest when the time came to figure out what movie to watch.

“Reese, we are not watching  _Jaws_. Your mom told me you tried to make Nathan watch it last week.”

“He said he wanted to watch it!”

Madge frowns while Gale chuckles from his spot on the rocking armchair.

“Pick another one,” he says, rubbing Beau’s back.

“SpongeBob!” Nathan cries out.

“Get off the coffee table, Nate,” Madge says, grabbing the boy and placing him next to her.

“I got it!” Andrew calls down the hallway. They wait as he runs in, brandishing a red Blu-ray case. “ _Age of Ultron_!”

“Is everyone good with that?” Madge asks, raising her eyebrows at Nathan, who nods, and Reese, who shrugs. Beau continues to drool on Gale’s shirt. “Okay! Andrew start it up. I’ll make the popcorn.” By the time the movie ends, Thom and Delly arrive home. Beau and Nathan were already put to be thanks to Gale and after giving their parents sleepily hugs the older kids head off to bed as well. Thom asks how the night went while Delly checks on her youngest.

“Everything went good,” Gale says, while Madge puts her jacket on.

“Thanks again,” Delly says quietly, going to her purse but Madge stops her. “Madge—“

“Don’t worry about it,” Madge says, hugging her friend. “If it’s really that important to you, I wouldn’t mind a free lunch,” she adds, causing Delly to laugh.

After saying their goodbyes, Gale and Madge make their way to the car. It’s a quiet drive until Gale sighs when they’re at a red light.

“What’s up?” Madge asks, as he takes her hand, his thumb toying with her wedding ring.

She waits while he takes his time to answer. “I was thinking that maybe we should have one of our own.”

The light turns green and Gale keeps his eyes on the road, while Madge stares at him.

“Gale, are you serious?”

He nods and she grips his hand in response. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot actually. I think we’re ready. What do you think?”

She doesn’t realize that they’re home, until Gale cuts the engine and turns to her with a hopeful expression as she formulates an answer. She imagines a child with his dark hair and her blue eyes. “I think,” she starts, unbuckling her seatbelt. “You need to take me to bed so we can start practicing.”


	7. Wow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on 5/22/2015. Takes place after [Chapter 4 of GND](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3278768/chapters/8321059)

Gale tiptoed back into the kitchen after tucking Eli in and letting Cooper curl up on the foot of his bed. Madge had cleared the table and was about to start washing when Gale entered.

“Just leave them there. I’ll get to them in a bit,” he said, reaching for her.

“But Gale—”

She didn’t have a chance to finish her sentence because Gale pressed his lips against hers. She gave a squeak of surprise before responding eagerly to them. Gale kept one hand on the small of her back while tangling the other in her hair. He inhaled the scent of her strawberry shampoo and sunscreen from today at the beach as he kissed her more urgently. She responded by pushing herself closer, chest-to-chest, and running her hands up his biceps to wrap around his shoulders.

They continued to kiss until the thought of taking it slow entered his mind and the fact that his son had a habit of not falling asleep right away. Gale ended the kiss with a few pecks and waited for Madge’s eyes to flutter open. He couldn’t help the smug look on his face when she had the dazed look on hers.

“Wow,” she sighed.

“I’ve been wanting to do that all day,” he whispered, placing his forehead against hers.

“Me too,” she murmured, kissing his bottom lip lightly. “You beat me to it. I’m supposed to make _you_ say wow.”

Gale pulled back. “Oh, trust me you did. That bikini you wore today? Wow wow _wow_.”

He let out a chuckle when she slapped her hand against his chest, blushing as she muttered something about Johanna. He shook his head and spent the next minute peppering her face with kisses, feeling like he was on cloud nine and nothing could ruin this for him.


	8. Disneyland (I)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on 6/22/2015. Requested by [damndonnergirls](http://archiveofourown.org/users/damndonnergirls) from [this list of AUs](http://lightning5.tumblr.com/post/123167815377/send-me-a-pairing-and-a-number-and-ill-write-you)

Madge hated this ride. Tower of Terror was something she did her best to avoid but when Johanna dares Madge to go on it and Madge retaliates with Star Tours, it became difficult to back out of. Especially when Katniss has the video of them stating and shaking hands on the deal on her phone.

So here they were. The two girls, along with Darius and Gale, waited in the boiler room in front of the service elevator door while the others opted for Ariel’s Undersea Adventure at Annie’s suggestion.

“It won’t be that bad,” Darius said with a smile. “We’re just going up and down.”

“Yeah.” Johanna threw an arm around her. “A few times and we get a nice view of the park before plunging—”

Madge pulled away, her heart racing even faster if that was possible. “Got it. Now please stop talking.”

At that moment the door slide open and the cast member let them through one line at a time. Seeing as they stood in the center, they were the first to be seated.

“I’ll get you a churro after,” Johanna quipped from her left, putting the seatbelt in place.

Madge nodded as she fumbled with her own. She barely paid any attention to the safety spiel and almost cried when the cast member gravely bid them goodbye before shutting the door.

“How ‘bout you hold my hand?” Gale whispered, his hand above her lap. She grabbed it almost immediately for the lights turned off and the elevator is being pulled back from the door.

_“You are the passengers…”_

* * *

Gasping for air, Madge remained absolutely still as the elevator returned to the loading area. Once the door opened and it was okay for them to unbuckle, she wouldn’t let go of the death grip she had on Gale’s hand. He didn’t say anything so she assumed it was okay. He did offer.

“See! It wasn’t that bad!” Johanna exclaimed, practically lifting Madge out of her seat. Her legs were shaking as they exited through the gift shop into the hot summer weather where the others waited while Darius took a picture of the ride photo as proof of Madge’s bravery.

It wasn’t until Peeta pointed it out that Gale and Madge were still holding hands. Madge let go as though she was burned and began apologizing and thanking him at the same time.

“No worries,” he replied, shaking his hand to get the blood circulating again. They began following the others, making their way through a bug’s land.

“I’m sorry. I swear it was an accident. I didn’t mean to grip your hand that hard.”

Gale rolled his eyes playfully. “Stop worrying, Madge. My hand is fine.” He wiggled his fingers as if to prove his point.

“Still—”

He interrupted her by holding out his arm for her to put hers through. “C'mon, Johanna owes you a churro.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m a sucker for anything Disney and gave Madge my hatred for Tower of Terror. Besides, who wouldn’t want to spend the day there with Gale Hawthorne amirite? ;)


	9. Boo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on 6/25/2015. Number 48 from this [list of AUs](http://lightning5.tumblr.com/post/123167815377/send-me-a-pairing-and-a-number-and-ill-write-you)

Gale enters through the front door to complete silence. The only thing he hears are the birds chirping outside through the open window in the living room. Heading that way, he finds Madge, her back facing him, slowly rocking back and forth. The reason for the noiseless house rests against her shoulder, drool escaping from her small mouth, her dark locks a stark contrast to his wife’s.

“Boo,” he whispers, snaking his arm around Madge, who gives a tiny start but is quick to threaten him.

“Gale Hawthorne. If you wake up this child, I will kill you and have Katniss hide your body.”

“I won’t, I promise. I’ll take her.” Easily removing the one year old from her arms while giving Madge a welcome home kiss, he holds his baby girl and feels a sense of relaxation once she lays her head on his shoulder. “She’s dead to the world. What did you two do today?”

Madge yawns as she collapses onto the couch, patting the spot next to her. Gale takes the invitation while Madge starts her story.

“Well, Miss Natalie and I went to the bookstore to visit Vic, who practically used our baby in an attempt to win over one of his co-workers. That boy, I swear. Then we had lunch with Katniss, came back here. Did the usual and now she’s finally asleep. How was your day?”

He shrugs. Going into the shop on a Saturday wasn’t ideal but someone had to do it. “The usual. Although this one woman tried flirting with me.” At this, Madge rolls her eyes. “Had to break her heart and tell her I was married. She was devastated.”

“I hoped you mentioned Natalie.”

“I did. By then she was inconsolable.”

“Shame. You’re making dinner tonight,” she adds, letting out another yawn.

“You’ll take a nap?” He asks, standing up and offering his hand for her to grab while Natalie continued to sleep against him. She hums as they head to their room. He rubs Natalie’s back as Madge gets comfortable on the bed and lays down on her side facing him. After gently placing Natalie in the middle, Gale takes his shoes and socks off and joins his girls.

“I love you,” he whispers, leaning towards Madge.

“I love me, too,” she responds, unable to keep a straight face and giggling before pressing her lips against his. “I love you.”

“Pasta tonight?”

“Pasta.”


	10. Worried for Nothing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on 6/25/2015. Number 32 from this [list of AUs](http://lightning5.tumblr.com/post/123167815377/send-me-a-pairing-and-a-number-and-ill-write-you)

It’s a rare overcast day but Gale drives into the small parking lot on the beach with Madge sitting next to him in the passenger seat.

“I thought we were going to the movies?” she asks, looking over to him with a puzzled expression. He clears his throat as he unbuckles his seatbelt. “Gale?”

“I just wanted to come here for a bit. We have time.”

She follows him out of the truck and lets him tug her against his side.

“You’ve been quiet since you picked me up. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. I just…” He shakes his head as though to clear his thoughts. They continue towards the unoccupied pier save for a fisherman at the very end. They stop halfway and Madge looks up at him expectantly. He cups her face and kisses her as though to not only reassure her everything was okay but himself as well. She shudders against him and he brings her closer to shield her from the sea breeze.

Breaking the kiss, Madge asks him again and he knows he can’t keep it bottled in forever.

“I think… I think I love you and I’m terrified,” he whispers, gently placing his forehead against hers.

“You think?” she replies. He nods sheepishly. He’d only realized this during the middle of the night and being in love is new concept for him. Sure he loves the people in his life, but he’s never been in love. Well, until now. He tells her this in a rush and he feels his cheeks grow hot as she pulls back to lightly pinch his cheek.

“Gale! You’re not alone,” she admonishes. “I’m scared too.”

“You’re in love with me?”

Madge rolls her eyes, her own cheeks stained pink, before bringing him down to plant another kiss on him. “Why do you sound so surprised? Yes,” she murmurs. “Now take me to the movies like you promised.”

He chokes out a laugh as she pulls him back towards the truck.


	11. Stupid Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on 7/3/2015. Number 18 from this [list of AUs](http://lightning5.tumblr.com/post/123167815377/send-me-a-pairing-and-a-number-and-ill-write-you)

Gale walks up to Madge as she rummages through her locker. Without preamble, he says, “I need your help.”

“A hello would have been more polite,” she deadpans, shouldering her backpack as she turns to face him and Gale looks down and apologizes.

“What do you need help with?” she asks, stifling her laugh.

Suddenly, he’s eager as he begins to explain. His on-again, off-again girlfriend, Glimmer (Madge cringes internally at the mention of her name) wants to be on-again but Gale doesn’t. “So I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend.”

She stares up at him in disbelief. They’ve been friends for quite some time now and have had their fair share of stupid ideas. But this took the cake. She shuts her locker and Gale jumps slightly.

“This is without a doubt the stupidest plan you’ve ever had.” She pauses. “Of course I’m in.”

He whoops, picks her up and spins her around which causes her to shriek and attract the attention of a few other students.

_Friday night_

Madge is talking to Katniss (who knows of the stupid plan) when Gale is suddenly by her side and slings an arm around her.

“Can I steal my girlfriend for a second?” He asks. Katniss rolls her eyes and waves them away. Immediately, Gale tugs her into Thom’s kitchen where it’s a lot quieter than outside.

“You okay?” Madge asks, confused.

“She’s here,” he replies, running a hand through his hair. By “she” it’s safe for Madge to assume he means Glimmer. “What do we do?”

Madge shrugs. “We act like a normal couple.”

“Right. Yeah, normal.”

She can tell he’s stressed but jeez. “Just relax Gale. You’re making me nervous and she’s not even my ex.”

He curses under his breath. “I’m sorry. I just—”

He tries to run his hand through his hair again but she stops him, leads him toward the connecting living room and has him sit on the couch before joining him. She leans into his side as she turns the tv on and begins searching for something to watch with Gale interjecting every minute or so. When _The Office_ pops up, he grabs the remote from her and pulls her closer. Her heart feels like it’s going to explode when she breaths in his cologne. She shouldn’t feel this way and becomes stiff in his arms.

Gale must of sensed this because he whispers in her ear to relax. She scoffs, cuddles into him some more and let’s him rub her back.

Nothing good can come from this plan but she’s going to milk it for what it’s worth and maybe he will too.


	12. Disneyland (II)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on 1/25/2016

If you were to tell Madge that she would find herself spending the rest of the afternoon with Gale, she’d laugh in your face. Sure, they get along as friends would but there was something about the way they’d get competitive at game night or argue about whose turn it was to pick something to watch for movie night. But most days, they got along. Like early when Madge was forced to go on _Tower of Terror_ and Gale offered his hand to hold during the drops.

Now they’re on a raft heading to _Tom Sawyer’s Island_ because Madge wanted to get away from the crowd. The others were waiting in line for the _Matterhorn_ and Madge was fine with that because she didn’t need a bruised back thank you very much and Gale agreed. Madge can remember the way Finnick winked and Johnna smirked, even though she tried to ignore them while Katniss promised to text Madge where they were after the got off the ride. Though, judging by the fact that the line practically wrapped around the mountain, it wouldn’t be for a while.

Once the raft docks at the small port, the cast member lets them out and she looks back to make sure Gale is following. He is, looking from left to right at their surroundings.

“First things first,” Madge says, stopping right before the first cave opening that read Dead Man’s Grotto. Gale gives her a look.

“I think I’m too tall for that,” he replies. “Besides, it says to ‘beware’, which just means trouble.”

She knows he’s joking. “It’s from Captain Jack Sparrow. When does he ever tell the truth?”

Gale shrugs. “From time to time. But fine. You brought me here, lead the way.”

* * *

Gale manages to bump his head as soon as they enter the cave, which is his own fault because she did tell him to duck. He grumbles, but takes her offered hand when a group of twelve years old almost separate the two. She’s thankful that the man-made cave’s lack of lighting because she’s blushing yet again when he interlocks his fingers with hers. They continue on and Madge can’t stop smiling while Gale takes in every little detail.

They wander out and Madge tugs on his hand. He follows without hesitation, while she spouts out some history facts about a previous attraction about mine trains and he’s smiling when they come to a stop and she points to what’s left of it.

“You’re really into this, aren’t you?” he teases, squeezing her hand. He laughs when she rolls her eyes and pushes at his chest.

“Sue me, I like the history of this place.”

“No! I think it’s great. Please, keep talking about _Mine Trains Through Nature’s Wonderland_.”

She does and they watch the Mark Twain Riverboat slowly pass. She manages to get a few people to wave at them, one child so excited he almost hit his sibling in the face. Gale finds that he can’t stop staring at her.

* * *

“You could buy your own. They sell them everywhere in the park.”

Gale adjusts the strap of the Mickey ears. He managed to swipe it from her hand when she was fixing her hair as they waited in line for The Haunted Mansion. They only spent another ten minutes on the island before deciding to squeeze a ride in before meeting up with the others.

“I could,” he agrees, crossing his arms just like her. “But we’re almost inside the house and I really want to go on this ride.”

“You’re a jerk.”

They squeeze into the foyer with other guests and there’s bumping and polite _excuse_ _me_ ’s while they all get situated around the room. He’s able to see that she’s standing in front of him, but that doesn’t stop him from holding her hand and she hasn’t snatched her hand back once so he considers this as progress.

_“When hinges creak in doorless chambers, and strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls; Whenever candlelights flicker where the air is deathly still - that is the time when ghosts are present, practicing their terror with ghoulish delight!_ ”

* * *

She finds it a little ironic when he gently touches her chin to get her attention before he leans in for a kiss. Ironic because they’re entering the attic where the mementos of Constance and her ill-fated husbands reside. She stops thinking about that and focuses on carding her fingers through his hair and the pressure of his lips.

Suddenly, the track stops and they break apart.

“ _We have been unavoidably detained by pranky spirits. Kindly remain seated in your doom buggy please. We will continue our tour momentarily_.”

Madge realizes their doom buggy stopped in front of the Hatbox Ghost, so she isn’t the only on losing their head. Gale takes a deep breath as she looks back at him and chuckles because he still wearing her hat, even though it’s askew. Her kiss wipes the offended look on his face and they settle back as the buggy turns so they fall backwards into the graveyard, smiles on both their faces.

* * *

They’re exiting the ride, their eyes adjusting to the brightness of the afternoon sun. Gale has his arm wrapped around her shoulders, so she’s tucked into his side with her arm around his waist.

“Should we go on again? I kinda like it.”

“Oh, _kinda_? Just a little bit?” she teases as he lightly squeezes her. They continue walking when Madge gets a text from Johanna to meet them at Big Thunder Mountain.

“Finnick is going to talk a lot of crap once he sees us,” Gale says. The way he says it causes Madge’s heart to drop.

“Do you not want Finnick to see us together?”

Instead of stopping in the middle of the crowd, which people do and it irritates Madge, he leads her to the side where the River is. He looks into her eyes and assures her that he wants this.

“I have for a while actually. Just happened to finally make it happen here of all places,” he blushes and Madge can’t hide her smile.

“You’re ridiculous,” she replies as she cups his face and brings him down for another kiss. She could get used to this.

“Noted and added to the list. C’mon, the faster we get there, the faster I can try to make out with you on the ride.”

“You know there are cameras on the rides, right?”

He shrugs as they walk with the crowd. He spots Finnick and waves his arm to him. “So, what you’re telling me is that they get a free show.”

“Exactly.”

“Challenge accepted. I’m kissing you on every single ride.”

Johanna’s voice cuts through the air. “ _What did you just say_?”


	13. Morse Code (I)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on 3/9/2016

It’s another boring lecture from Crane and Gale silently taps out his message to Bristel, who is sitting right next to him. Morse code is their friend and had been since their freshman year. It’s way better than getting caught with a handwritten note like some of their other classmates. This way meant no evidence.

 _Bored_.

Bristel gives an inaudible sigh before responding with his left hand, while he continues to take notes with his right.

 _Only a few minutes left_. Gale rolls his eyes. Twenty minutes until they head to the baseball field to get a head start on practice during lunch. In other words, they were stuck here forever.

_Check your gf out today?_

Gale glares at a smirking Bristel who keeps his eyes on his paper. He’s been teasing Gale for months now, ever since he confessed he liked Madge Undersee. It doesn’t help that she sits right behind him in Crane’s class. His neck heats up because okay he did check her out today. They both reached the classroom door at the same time and Gale stood back with an embarrassed smile to let her pass first. Maybe his eyes drifted down to her back for two seconds before following her to their respective seats.

 _F U,_ he responds back _._ He’s allowed to have a crush. Jesus. He knows Bristel witnessed the small incident with a knowing smirk. _She has a cute butt_.

 _There’s more to her besides a cute butt_.

 _I_ _know_.

Gale met Madge in their sophomore year during a football game thanks to Katniss. While they’re not the best of friends, they get along most of the time. They used to argue over every little thing, but those started to tamper off and they actually had conversations when they were hanging out with the group. Once that started, Gale realized he had a crush on her and hasn’t done anything about it.

Their conversation stops as Crane goes over the homework for the weekend. Gale is writing it down when he feels a tap against his shoulder blade. His heart stops when that tap turns into a full sentence.

 _I have a cute butt_?

He can’t move. All he can think is _holy shit, holy shit, HOLY SHIT_. She knows. She knows Morse code. He’s talked about her before because of Bristel’s teasing. She’s going to rip him a new one once class is over. Goodbye to his family and fulfilling his dream of playing baseball.

The bell rings and Madge is out of her seat before he can blink. Of course, his eyes travel to said cute butt before he can stop himself. He’s a dead man. Give him a break. He scrambles to get his things in his backpack and tells Bristel he’ll meet him at the field if he surives. He doesn’t give his friend time to question the end of the sentence because he is out of the room and taking long strides towards the end of the hall where he knows Madge’s locker is located.

Sure enough, she’s switching out her books and closing her locker. He manages to step right in front of her before she can head outside to join the others.

“Can we talk?” he blurts out as soon as she looks up at him. She doesn’t look mad, but he can’t assume.

“That depends. Are we going to talk out loud or in Morse code?”


	14. Morse Code (II)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on 3/20/2016

It’s fun to see macho man Gale Hawthorne squirm while he waits for her to start. Madge’s not sure what to say. _Thanks for thinking I have a cute ass? How dare you stare and talk about my ass?_ She’s leaning more towards the second one, even though she’s flattered he thinks so. She’s noticed their usual squabbles aren’t happening as often as they used too. While she was happy about that, she kind of missed arguing with him.

Once, a drunk Johanna called it unresolved sexual tension and pointed to the nearest closet in Finnick’s house where they could take care of it which resulted in Gale and Madge avoiding eye contact for the rest of the night. Madge maintains her neutral face despite the blush that creeps onto her face at the memory. Gale runs his hand through his hair and takes a deep breath.

“I apologize for treating you like an object. I know better and shouldn’t have said anything to Bristel,” he says, staring into her eyes. He’s _apologizing_. Not just saying he’s sorry. A-P-O-L-O-G-I-Z-I-N-G. It takes her by surprise for a moment before she’s remembers how one night she ranted about guys interested in her just because of her looks. At the time, he looked at her with a small smile, spoke at the right moments and nodded along. Now, he was serious and she can only say okay.

“Just okay?” he frowns, gripping the strap of his backpack.

“Well, I’m kinda mad because I wanted to make you sweat!” she replies, pushing against his shoulder and begins to walk. He’s in step with her and grins wolfishly. She shoves him again because there was no doubt in her mind that he was going to say something dirty.

“Alright. How do you know Morse code?” he asks, stepping closer to her when a group of ninth-graders pass them and Madge tries to ignore the woodsy smell and the way it makes her feel.

“Um. My grandfather taught me. Well, I begged him after learning that he could do it. You?”

“Bristel learned about it and taught me so we couldn’t get caught for notes in class,” he shrugged.

You know what?” she says as soon as they’re outside. Gale stops.

“What is it, Undersee?”

“Payback. Keep walking, Hawthorne,” she smirks, tilting her head to the side. His eyes widen in understanding before he nods to himself.

“I deserve this.”

“You do,” she nodded. He does a slow turn as a joke, lifts the back of his shirt so it’s not covering the back of his jeans, sticks his butt out a little and starts walking in the direction of the baseball field.

“I’ll text you after practice!” he calls over his shoulder as she tries to hide her laughter behind her hand.

* * *

They’re all hanging out at Finnick’s and rather than freeze to death Madge heads inside. The kitchen and dining area is lit, but what grabs her attention is the big screen T.V. mounted on the wall of the dim-lit living room and the fact that it was on.

She walks around the brown leather couch to see Gale in the matching leather armchair, his feet on the ottoman, watching the Dodgers game.

“Of course you’d be in here,” she says quietly walking over to him. He gives her a tired smile and reaches out to her. There’s no way she was going to fit on the chair so she resisted his tugging and made him get up so they could sit on the couch instead. She burrows herself against his side as he wraps an arm around her.

It’s only been two weeks since that day and they’ve made some progress even though it felt like they’ve remain the same. She still goes to his baseball games with Katniss and during group outings he’s always near. It’s new and exciting and _fuck he’s so warm_. She has her hand against his chest and begins tapping a message that gets another smile from him.

_I’m buzzed_.

_How many have you had?_ he asks, as she toys with the button of his Henley. She playfully scoffs out the number two and he shakes his head and calls her a lightweight. The conversation stops when everyone comes in because they ran out of beer for beer pong.

Annie is the first to spot them, but she doesn’t tease the pair like Johanna does three seconds later.

“Well, you two look cozy,” she smirks, taking the armchair Gale previously occupied and curls up like a cat.

“He’s just…so warm,” Madge says, as he covers his hand over hers. She settles against him even more if that were possible and hears Gale reiterate to Johanna that he’s war while their friend rolls her eyes.

“Enough baseball,” Finnick groans as he comes around the couch and snatches the control from Gale dropping down in front of Annie to lean against her legs. In a flash, she tugs the remote out of her boyfriend’s hand ready to change it back.

“Let’s watch a movie,” Katniss says as she sits on Madge’s other side with Peeta following behind her with two boxes of pizzas he sets on the coffee table with paper plates and napkins while Bristel pours cups of water while Leevy hands them out to those who need it. Everyone agrees, but arguments over what movies to watch deters them from actually watching anything.

_Getting sleepy?_ Gale taps out against the hand he’s holding. As Finnick and Peeta do rock, paper, scissors to watch _Jurassic World_ or _Straight Outta Compton_ , he can see Madge’s eyes slowly drifting close only to open when Peeta demands another round after Finnick delays his choice of paper to Peeta’s rock. She’s leaning heavily against him and using his chest as a pillow, but he doesn’t mind that at all. She taps out a yes as she yawns quietly. He thinks no one notices when he playfully taps against her nose that she needs to stay awake for _Straight Outta Compton_ , but when he looks up to catch Bristel giving him a knowing smile from his spot on the loveseat he’s sharing with Leevy. His friend waggles his eyebrows only for Gale to discreetly give him the middle finger as Madge succumbs to sleep.


	15. Laundry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on 3/23/2016. Number 35 of this [list of fluffy prompts](http://lightning5.tumblr.com/post/141472884632/101-fluffy-prompts)

“Gale! _What the fuck_!”

He’s barely getting out of his spot on the couch when Madge comes in and throws a small pile of pale pink clothes at him. He gets the t-shirt out of his face to see her holding up his red Spider-man socks. Looking down at the pile, he quickly realizes the clothes were originally white.

“Shit,” he mutters.

“Yeah, shit!” Madge’s holding the pair of socks out in front of her as though they did her wrong. Which they did. “How did your Spider-man socks end up with the whites?”

“I don’t know! It was an accident,” Gale responds in frustration, going through each item which is no use because all the clothes are ruined. The one time he insists on doing the laundry and this. Jesus. He’s sorting the clothes while Madge takes deep breaths.

He gets to the last item which is Madge’s favorite summer dress. It’s his favorite too. She wore it on their first date, to a few get-togethers with family and friends. God, he loved seeing her in that dress. He’s still holding it up when Madge softly tugs it out of his hands.

“I can buy you another one,” he says gently, drawing her back into him and wrapping his arms around her waist. He ducks down to rest his head against her shoulder as she sighs. “I’ll buy you a hundred dress as my way of saying sorry.”

Madge scoffs and tosses the dress on top of the pile left on the couch. “All those dresses just so you can take them off at the end of the day?”

“I mean, if you need me to,” he responds with a smirk while she turns in his embrace, her fingers carding through his hair at the nape of his neck.

“The Spider-man socks have to go,” she says, slipping out of the hug and taking the clothes to their bedroom.

“No way! Spider-man is the shit!” He grabs said socks, hopping along in her wake as he tugs them on.

“Get them out of my house!”

“It’s my house too! I’m wearing them to bed!”

“You’re sleeping on the couch then!”

“At least my feet will be warm!”


	16. Damn You, Pixar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on 3/26/2016. Requested by [damndonnergirls](http://archiveofourown.org/users/damndonnergirls/pseuds/damndonnergirls), number 45 from [this list of fluffy prompts](http://lightning5.tumblr.com/post/141472884632/101-fluffy-prompts)

He doesn’t realize he has tears coming down his face until Madge pokes his shoulder, her own face wet with tears. Why did she have to pick this movie? Why did he agree to it?

“Fuck,” he whispers, scrubbing at his face as the credits begin to roll. Madge rubs his back as he leans forward, ready to call it a night. He’s never watching a Pixar film again. No. Fuck that. Gale Hawthorne does not cry because of an animated movie. The tears are still coming down, but he doesn’t care.

“New house rule: you don’t get to choose any movies. It’s whatever I want to watch from now on,” he says, letting her pull him back so she can rest against him. Her eyes are red and he’s sure his are too, but whatever. “Action and horror movies.”

“No way!” He knows she hates horror movies. They saw one of the Paranormal Activity movies with their friends and she spent most of the time holding onto Gale, who didn’t mind one bit. “This just shows you have a heart,” she responds, nose slightly stuffed from her own crying. “At least, I didn’t pick _Up_.”

“Oh god.” He’s only seen bits and pieces when Posy watched it on T.V. and he got the gist of it. So, okay yeah, she’s right. _Toy Story 3_ is a better choice than _Up_. Still, he’s done with Pixar. And Disney for that matter.


	17. Cooking Confessions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on 3/27/2016. Requested by sassy-nach on tumblr, number 8 from this [list of fluffy prompts](http://lightning5.tumblr.com/post/141472884632/101-fluffy-prompts)

Madge knows she’s bad at cooking. Sure, she can do the basic stuff, but a full meal? Nah. Burning food is her specialty. The thing that shakes her head in bemusement is that Gale continues to eat the food she makes for dinner.

“It’s great,” he says, shoveling pieces of chicken and rice into his mouth at an alarming pace.

“Maybe you should slow down?” she asks slowly, not even bothering with her own plate of food. She takes a sip from her wine glass filled with soda. Because she’s classy.

“Can’t. Too good,” he responds. “And the game starts in a few minutes.”

“Gale.”

Finally, he looks up at her, his cheek filled with food like a chipmunk. She doesn’t say anything until he swallows and lowers his fork onto his plate.

“Just say it’s bad,” she sighs.

“Babe. It’s not. It’s really good.”

He takes her hand and she rolls her eyes because this man is the worst liar ever and the puppy dog look isn’t helping his case. Still, she lets him intertwine the hands so he can rub this thumb against the back of her hand.

“Gale, repeat after me. ‘I love you a lot, but please stop trying to cook me dinner, you suck.’”

“Well, I wouldn’t say you suck—”

She squeezes his hand. “Gale.”

“I love you a lot, but please stop trying to cook me dinner, you suck.”

“Thank you.”

She puts the leftovers in Tupperware because she hates wasting food no matter how bad it is and Gale takes the plates and cutlery to the sink. He’s rolling up his sleeves as she closes the refrigerator door.

“What about the game?”

“You cooked so that means I wash the dishes.”

Madge leans against the counter, ready for a real glass of wine as she watches the way his muscles flex as he scrubs the plates. Before she has the time to fantasize about his arms and what they can do, he starts talking.

“You know the first time I was going to say I love you wasn’t going to be because of your cooking.”

“No?” Damn, she’s blushing because she thought he wasn’t going to notice that. Hell, she didn’t realize it came out of her mouth until he was repeating it back to her.

“Nah. I was thinking when we finally go on that Disney trip because I know you love Disneyland. Probably by the castle.” She’s covering her cheeks as he rinses the last dish, wipes his hands dry and comes closer to her. “Not in front because it’s always crowded with people trying to take pictures. No, I’d let you lead me to the side where it’s a little bit quieter. Just a little bit because, let’s face it, it’s _fuckin’ Disneyland_. I’d hold you, just like this.” She stands straighter as he wraps his arms slowly around her waist and she cups his face. “And I’ll say ‘I love you’.”

“Maybe, have some stranger take our picture?”

“Oh, definitely,” he whispers. She guides him down to her lips for a sweet kiss only to break apart.

“Your plan is too great to pass up. You should still do it.”

“You just want to go to Disneyland.”

“Shhhhh, kiss me.”


	18. Oh Man, We Are?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on 4/3/2016. Requested by euryrdice on tumblr, number 57 from this [list of fluffy prompts](http://lightning5.tumblr.com/post/141472884632/101-fluffy-prompts)
> 
> Takes place within the [Changeup universe](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2400644/chapters/5307764)

He injures his knee sliding into second base and the shortstop who isn’t able to make the throw to first base to get the second out. So it was a win-lose situation to Gale, who can barely stand as he tries to get off the field. The medical team is on him in an instant followed by manager Vincent Gloss and he knows he’s going to be out for a while.

That was a few days ago. This morning, Gale went in for surgery and now in the late afternoon, he’s groggily waking up. Someone’s holding his hand and he blinks a few times before she comes into focus.

“Madge?” he croaks. He needs water and suddenly there’s a straw being held to his dry lips.

“Take it easy,” she instructs as he takes a sip. He can’t help but look at her. She’s wearing a black fleece sweater with the team logo stitched on the upper left side and jeans with her blonde hair in a high ponytail. She’s probably as tired as he feels.

“You’re cute,” he says as she places the cup of water on the bedside table. Gently, she sits on the edge of the bed and quirks her eyebrow at him.

“You’re not bad yourself. Then again that might be the anesthesia talking so I don’t know if I should believe you,” she jokes, pushing his hair off his forehead.

“No,” he sighs as she runs her hand through his hair. “It’s me talking. You’re cute.”

“Okay.”

The doctors and the attending nurse come in to see how he’s doing and there’s a lot of information being thrown around that Gale can’t keep up with. But Madge is listening and nodding along to what’s being said and before he knows it, they’re alone again. She’s going through the small stack of papers with a frown on her face, but he blurts it out anyway.

“This is probably a bad time, but marry me?”

Her head shoots up and Gale almost laughs at the reaction.

“Marry you?” she asks. It wasn’t in disgust but rather confusion. He slowly nods as she gets up from the chair, leaving the stack of papers on it. Confusion turns into amusement, but he still waits. “Gale, I’m already married.” Disappointment fills him as she lifts her left hand up for him to see the modest ring on her finger and he can’t help but think how well it fit her. “To you, you goof.”

“What? Oh shit, that’s amazing.” he says in surprise even going as far as to let his jaw drop. She let out a laugh as she gently closes it for him. “Holy shit.”

“Is that a good holy shit or a bad holy shit?”

“It’s a great holy shit,” he laughs, holding her hand in his, rubbing the thumb against the ring. “Madge, we’re _married_.”


	19. Super Gale

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on 4/10/2016. Requested by sassy-nach on tumblr, number 24 from this [list of fluffy prompts](http://lightning5.tumblr.com/post/141472884632/101-fluffy-prompts)

_What the fuck_.

Seeing Gale on the front cover of the local newspaper, Madge is stunned. Stunned because it’s a picture of him in his superhero costume, setting a flipped car back on it wheels with a crowd surrounding him. Her surprise turned to angry. They’re best friends! Best friends tell each other things! Very important things!

With one last look at the paper, she rolls it up as she fast walks it to his bedroom.

“Gale Hawthorne!” She pounds on the door almost as though that would help tamper her anger. But it doesn’t. She gives another loud knock before its thrown open by the man himself, clad only in basketball shorts and wearing the glasses she knows he doesn’t need. She keeps her eyes on his face despite her natural reaction to stare at his naked torso. _Best friends, best friends, best friends_ , she chants in her head.

“Where’s the fire?” he asks, rubbing his eye. She thrusts the newspaper at his chest, partly to cover his chest. He adjusts the glasses before he takes in the front page. Madge can almost laugh at how quick his eyes widen in shock. He backs into the room and drops onto the end of his bed.

“You! You’re on the front page, Gale! When you decided to do this you swore you wouldn’t get caught.”

“At least I look good,” he tries to joke. She stomps out of the room slamming her bedroom door for good measure. She’s overreacting. She knows it. She found out about his powers while they were in high school and promised to keep his secret. It wasn’t until recently that Gale wanted to use his powers for good. He made a PowerPoint to prove his case to her.

Once the angry seeps out of her, she comes out of her bedroom to get her much-needed coffee only to find the cup of precious liquid waiting for her, along with a plate of Mickey Mouse-shaped pancakes, on the table while Gale stands, his back to her, at the stove making his own plate of breakfast.

“You should wear a shirt when you’re cooking,” she says as she slowly walks to him after taking a sip of the coffee. He turns off the stove as he faces her with a smirk on his face.

“Thanks Mom. I think I’ll survive. C’mere,” he adds, holding his arm out. She drags her feet before wrapping her arms around his waist and lets out the biggest sigh of her life as he holds her tight. “I know you’re scared something bad happens while I’m doing this. But I’m always careful—”

“—until now,” she adds, pulling out of his embrace. He rolls his eyes and Madge hates the fact that she likes him in glasses.

_I think I’m in love. Fuck._


	20. Put Some Clothes On

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on 4/10/2016. Requested by smilerforyou and hawtsee on tumblr, number 42 from this [list of fluffy prompts](http://lightning5.tumblr.com/post/141472884632/101-fluffy-prompts)

The house was clean from top to bottom and they had an hour to kill before Madge’s parents arrived to spend the week with them. A small part of Gale was looking forward to it but the rest…not so much. It’s only a week, but Gale felt like it would be a lifetime because he had to be on his best behavior which, as Madge put it, meant wearing a shirt at all times and no swearing. Another thing he probably was going to have to live without of the duration was sex. She might have not stated it, but he knew it wasn’t going to happen while her parents slept in the guest room that shared a wall with their bedroom. So, he was going to use what time they had left wisely.

She’s wiping down the spotless kitchen counter when she turns to him and he lifts her into his arms.

“Gale!” she squeaks in surprise as her legs instinctively wrap around his waist. Before she can say anything else, he presses his lips against hers and holds her firmly against him. She gasps against his mouth and rubs herself against his hard-on, earning a groan from him as he walks down the hall to their bedroom.

She starts to say something about her parents which is the last thing he wants to hear. Instead, he deposits her on the edge of the bed and sheds his shirt.

“They’ll be here in an hour,” he says, helping her out the tank top she’s wearing. “We have time.”

“You’re acting like you’ll never have sex again,” she pants as he trails kisses down her neck.

They’re down to their underwear when Madge gets a text. Gale stops what he’s doing and rests his head against her hip as she turns to grab the phone and read it.

“Shit!” she exclaims, causing him to look up in alarm.

“What is it?”

Madge urges him to get up and she goes to the closet to pull on the clothes she set aside to wear as he stands with a tent in his boxers.

“My parents are coming over in 10 minutes so please put some clothes on,” she rushes, shimmying into her jeans.

“They’re early! What am I supposed to do about this?” He gestures to his problem. She doesn’t help when she bites her lip as she turns her head to look at him.

“I don’t know…maybe think about golf? Just please start getting dressed.”


	21. I Don't Sing, But When I Do...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on 4/10/2016. Requested by smilerforyou on tumblr, number 18 from this [list of fluffy prompts](http://lightning5.tumblr.com/post/141472884632/101-fluffy-prompts)

“Alright, alright! Next up a Mr. Gale Hawthorne!”

“What?” Gale hisses at the others around the table. Thom and Peeta shake their heads indicating they weren’t the ones that put his name in. Johanna was too busy cackling, while Katniss takes big sip of her drink. So, the only guilty person is the blonde sitting next to him.

“I want to hear you sing,” Madge coyly says. “C’mon Gale.”

He tries to resist those blue eyes and the way her hand is playing with the collar of his shirt. He’s had a few drinks so the liquid courage is stepping up and he’ll be damned if he doesn’t get up on that stage and sing. He gets up as the D.J. calls his name again, downs his drink and goes on the stage. He gets a few catcalls from the bachelorette party near the stage and he’s pretty sure one of them calls him Magic Mike.

He takes a breath as he grabs the microphone because he realizes he doesn’t know what song Madge picked. He’s hoping it’s not Justin Bieber. He looks up at the T.V. screen that will display the lyrics for him.

_Bohemian Rhapsody by_ _Queen_

Gale has to laugh because of course she would pick this song. There are T.V.s all over the place and everyone that isn’t drunk enough not to see it starts cheering. He finds Madge leading the other two through the bachelorette party to be front and center, her phone ready to capture him making a fool of himself. _Here goes nothing_ , he thinks.

_Is this the real life?_

_Is this just fantasy?_

_Caught in a landslide_

_No escape from reality_

Not only is he a hit with the bachelorette party, but the other patrons were singing along with him and that might have helped boost his confidence. He puts the microphone back on its stand with the biggest grin on his face and steps down to stand right in front of Madge, who is smiling and clapping for him.

“Happy?” he asked, as Katniss and Johanna went back to the table.

“Oh, definitely. I have something to blackmail you with,” she replies, tugging him closer. Gale gets his arms around her and they start swaying as the next person starts their song. She discreetly nods over to the bachelorette party table. “I think one of them likes you.”

“Really?” He jokingly tries to look over, but Madge’s hands are on either side of his face to deter him. “Jealous?”

“You’re pushing it.”

She’s pressed up against him with her hands now against the back of his neck. Maybe it’s the song playing, the drinks he’s had or the high of singing Bohemian Rhapsody that makes him capture her lips in a kiss. Either way, he’ll thank all three options if he has to.


	22. Cake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For [smilerforyou](http://smilerforyou.tumblr.com/) on tumblr. This ridiculously late and I do apologize for it.

_"If you shove cake in my face this will be the worst wedding night of your life."_

It shocks a laugh out of him because of how serious Madge looks at him and the piece of cake atop of the fork he’s offering her. He already ate the piece she fed him without incident and he wasn’t going to do anything to sabotage what’s going to happen later behind closed doors.

“I’m not going to do it. I swear,” he insists. He inches the fork even closer to her closed mouth. She gives him a playful glare before accepting the confection.  There’s cheering, a few “awws” and Rory boos because there was no cake smashing. Gale isn’t concerned and Rory can smash his own damn cake when he gets married.

Instead, he kisses the tiny drop of frosting that’s on the corner of Madge’s mouth. _They’re married_. It took them years to get to this point, but they were here and Gale couldn’t be any happier. They head back to their table while pieces of the cake are cut for the guests, some of them already back on the dance floor.

“I want to keep dancing, but I feel like my legs will fall off,” Madge jokes as she sits while Gale takes off his suit jacket.

“No excuses, Mrs. Hawthorne.” He loves the blush she gives him as he holds his hand to her. “I know you switched your heels to something more comfortable,” he whispers against her ear.

“I can’t wait for your reaction to see what I have for later.”

Gale doesn’t move from the table. “If you want we can leave right now. They won’t notice.”

Madge laughs and takes his hand in hers, leading him to the dancing guests. “Nope! C’mon, show me your moves.”

He wraps his arms around her so they’re chest-to-chest and swaying rather than dancing. “I don’t want to scar anyone with the things I want to do with you.”

Madge raises her eyebrow, there’s heat in her eyes and her left hand lightly scratches at his chest.

“Maybe we can leave now.”

They try. Finnick wants a dance battle that Peeta ending up winning much to everyone’s surprise. Photo booth sessions were a must according to Johanna and all Gale could do was watch Madge walk away with her bridesmaids before they had him squeeze into the booth, shoving a clown wig on top of his head while Madge sports a mustache. More dancing follows. Suddenly tired, he was ready to call it a night. He tells her exactly that as they once again sway to upbeat music.

“No excuses, Mr. Hawthorne,” she says after kissing him long and hard. She surprises him again by giving his ass a squeeze which wakes him up. “You’re about to have the best and _only_ wedding night of your life.”


	23. Star Wars Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally posted on tumblr for Star Wars Day but I forgot to post it here. I can't believe myself right now -_-

Eli slowly tiptoed down the hall, careful to avoid the patrolling Stormtroopers. Seeing that the coast was clear, he waved for the small droid to follow him.

“Keep up, BB-8,” he whispered and with a quick wave the door slid open. “We have to get to the ship before they figure out that we’re gone.”

The plan was simple. Locate the droid and bring him home to the Resistance. So far, Eli was able to get onto the Imperial base undetected, found the classified information carrying droid with ease. They were nearing his Starfighter, when the first red blot of a blaster whizzed by them. Eli turned, the hood of his Jedi robe flying off, his lightsaber on and already blocking the next blast.

“BB-8! Get in the ship!”

The little droid beeped and rushed away as he slowly but surely took out his attackers, sending the last Stormtrooper flat on his back. With a triumphant yell, he jumped into the pilot chair and gets them into the air.

“We did it!” he exclaimed, getting ready for hyperspace while BB-8 let out a series of beeps to express its excitement.

Madge looked up from her sketchbook to see Eli, wearing Gale’s hoodie, the sleeves rolled up several time so his hands were free, with Cooper sitting in the passenger seat of the motorized car slowly driving around the backyard. She could hear him making whooshing sounds as he turned the wheel and hummed the Star Wars theme while Cooper occasionally barked. He parked the car near the steps, opened the tiny door for the beagle and ran up the steps to Madge, who stood up.

“General Madge,” Eli said, pushing his sleeves up and standing tall with Cooper next to him. “I’ve found your droid.”

“Thank you so much, Jedi Master Hawthorne,” she replied, briefly bowing her head. She turns the sketchbook so he could see the finished product. “As a thank you, I’ve drawn this for you.”

It was a drawing of him in full Jedi robes similar in color of Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi and green lightsaber at the ready. Eli’s eyes got big as Madge placed the book in his hands.

“Whoa,” he whispered. “This is amazing!”

“I’m glad you like it.” She clapped her hands together. “Now, I’m sure you’re hungry after your rescue mission so let’s see what your dad made for us.”


	24. Tinder Olympics

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Request on Tumblr that Gale and Madge were Olympic athletes. Then I read an article about athletes hooking up and how Tinder makes it easier. So hopefully the person that requested this prompt enjoys it!

As soon as Madge got a confirmation text from him, she pushed Johanna out the door despite the other girl’s intentions to stay.

“I have to make sure his abs are real!”

Maybe she should as a thank you for setting up her Tinder account. Leaving it to Madge would mean that it was never going to happen, but Johanna made her profile as they got settled in the Olympic Village and her first match was the one and only, Gale Hawthorne. Three gold medalist Gale Hawthorne. It’s impressive to Madge because she hasn’t won a medal yet. It was only four years ago the IOC decided to bring back softball for Tokyo so this would be Madge’s first time at the Olympics. It’s exciting but at the moment she’s panicking because Johanna won’t leave and Gale said he’s be there in a minute.

“I will let you know if they are!” Madge grunts as Johanna suddenly goes dead weight on her. “C’mon, Jo!”

“Okay, fine.” She stands straight up and turns to face her. “Just touch every muscle for me and follow the V—you know which one I’m talking about—follow the V because it leads to a very good thing and you have to make the most of it before curfew.”

Madge gives her an unimpressed look. “Please go.”

Johanna’s cackles end when Madge closes the door and gives herself a minute to relax. The minute feels like five seconds because there’s a quiet knock on the door. Her nervousness picks up a little as she opens the door.

Gale Hawthorne stands in his USA hoodie, similar to the one she has on her bed, with his hands in his sweatpant pockets. _Shit he’s hot…and tall_ , she thinks as he smiles at her.

“Hi, come in,” she says in what she thinks is a pretty calm voice.

“Hey,” he returns. He still as his hands in his pockets when she turns to face him. “I managed to sneak some chocolate from the dining hall and didn’t know what was your favorite? I’m a Tinder virgin and I don’t know how this really goes, so I figured chocolate would be a good ice breaker.”

She laughs as he shows her the small pile of candy bars in his hands. She notices a king-sized Butterfingers and happily takes it from him.

“You’re doing a great job so far.” She joins him on the couch and they munch on their own chocolate and asks the usual questions like when are you competing? Which state are you from? Favorite movie? Favorite color? Music? Food?

“I’m a Tinder virgin too,” she says, throwing away the candy wrappers. “My roommate made my profile.”

“Yeah?” She returns to her spot only to have him tug her closer to him. “Mine sat on me until I made it. He’s very proud that I’m here.”

 “She wanted to stay to meet you…and to see your abs. Make sure they’re real.”

He blushes and Madge can’t help but kiss him. For someone so confident on the starting blocks, he’s bashful. He returns her kiss and she can taste the dark chocolate on his tongue. All that is running through her mind is that she is kissing Gale Hawthorne and she wants more.

She tugs his hoodie up and they break the kiss so he can take it off along with his shirt as she does the same with hers.

“God, you’re beautiful,” he whispers, his hands burning against her back.

“I still have my bra on,” she replies, running her hands up his arms to his neck. The quip gets him to grin.

“Still beautiful.”

“We should go to the room.”

“You still want to do this?”

She looks at him up and down in the most exaggerated way possible and giggles when he gently tackles her to the couch, kissing her all over.

“Yes, Gale. We have two hours let’s make the most of it.”

Her nervousness is gone as she leads him from the living room to the bedroom she’s sharing with Johanna. She turns on the light and stops short at the sight on her bed. Johanna left a parting gift and that was the condoms.

Condoms in the formation of the Olympic circles.


	25. BFFs and Xs

Coming home from work, all Madge wanted to do was curl up on couch and catch up on all her reality tv shows. But when she opens the door she finds Gale Hawthorne watching the six o'clock news. Not only that, he was sitting in her spot. Her spot.

“Don’t you have your own place?” she asks. Her tone comes off a little rude, but she’s tired, hungry, and it’s her apartment.

Eyes still glued to the screen, he says, “Darius has company over. I brought pizza.”

Damn him. He knows her weakness is pizza and her stomach rumbles. She’ll let him stay.

“Where’s Katniss?”

Her roommate is nowhere to be found. Madge heads straight for her room to change and notices Katniss’s room is empty and the lights were off.

“Oh, she’s with Peeta.”

The funny thing is how gleeful he sounds because she’s never heard that tone from him in the five years since she met him. It is a little weird to her because he was Katniss’ first boyfriend and he was happily reporting that she’s with their next door neighbor. But he’s giving her valuable information.

The first day in their new place was spent lifting the last of the boxes from Gale’s truck to the apartment. Peeta had come out of his apartment, saw Katniss struggling with her box and immediately took it out of her hands despite her protests. Madge only witnessed Katniss scowling behind the strong blond smiled at her and Gale and placed the box in the living room before introducing himself. Ever since then she’s watched her best friend scowls turn into soft smiles when Peeta was around.

“So, she finally caved?” Madge laughs as she shimmies out of her work pants. This is the best time of the day when she gets to take her bra off and change into her comfortable clothes.

After slipping on her shirt, she walks back to the living room. Gale had moved to the kitchen area and had his back to her as he grabbed plates and the two pizza boxes from the oven.

“Yeah, they went to the pool hall over on 19th Street. Don’t be surprised when she doesn’t come home tonight.”

They end up on the couch and Madge holds the remote hostage as she reminds him it’s her home, her rules and yes, they’re watching Gilmore Girls for as long as she wants.

Two episodes later, he’s begging to watching the baseball game. But she refuses, holding the remote out of his reach which makes him more determined.

“It’s my apartment!”

“I brought you food!”

The back and forth goes on for awhile before Madge becomes fully aware of how close he’s gotten. He comes to the same realization because he stops reaching for the remote and licks his lips. Madge is thoroughly fucked.

Even though the break up was mutual and obvious they stayed close friends, Gale was still Katniss’s ex-boyfriend. It was true that Madge developed a crush on him after they were introduced to each other during a joint college graduation party for both girls.

She felt that there was something there but she never acted in it out of respect for Katniss and that would be beyond fucked up to go after her best friend’s ex. So, the early years were spent being polite yet indifferent to hide the fact that she did indeed want to climb him like a tree.

Their current position didn’t help matters. Her hand’s presses against the Henley, the first two buttons undone and his skin burning her fingertips.

“We—” Madge shakes her head as though to get rid of the intoxicating scent of his cologne. “—can’t. Gale, we can’t.”

“Madge,” he whispers. She shakes her head again and gently pushes him back so they’re both sitting up.

“I’m sorry,” she says.

“Don’t be.” He pauses and turns to face her even though she’s looking down at her lap because she’s practicing her self control and doing a good job of it. “Is this because I went out with Katniss.”

Shit. “Yes.”

Madge peeks at him to see his nod. “Girl code. I can respect that. But, I mean, I don’t know if you can call it a relationship because we only kissed like once and—”

He’s interrupted by the sound of keys and Katniss comes through the door looking nothing like the serious young woman Madge knew. She was smiling. Grinning.

She sees the pair on the couch and her eyes widen.

“Did I interrupt something?” she asks as she closes the door behind her. “I just wanted to grab something from my room.”

“Condoms?” Gale jokes and Madge elbows him.

Katniss ignores him as she hurriedly walks to her room. It turns out to be a movie, but knowing Katniss she probably grabbed a condom as well. Gale’s acting relaxed beside her like they weren’t about to kiss and without her noticing changed the channels so the baseball game was on. He shrugs when she glares but before she can say anything Katniss stops and turns to them.

“I always thought you two would be good together.”

“What—”

“You’re both my best friends,” Katniss shrugs. “I just wanted you two to be happy.”

“But you and Gale—”

“Barely count,” Katniss and Gale reply at the same time.

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Well, I’ll be at Peeta’s.”

The door locks and Madge falls against the back cushions so her shoulder rests against Gale’s.

“All this time…”

“Yup.”

“…we could have had so many make out sessions.”

“Well, I think we’d do more than make out.”

“True.”


	26. The Haunted Mansion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Gadge Day!! This is the start of something I've been thinking about for awhile and since it's a special day for our lil ship I wanted to share it with you! This is based on one of my favorite attractions at Disneyland AND the graphic novel that recently came out. (Again, this is a sneak peek)

“This is awesome!” Madge exclaims as she watches spirits of various periods of time dancing to the lively band in the corner of the Grand Hall. There’s a Civil War soldier with a flapper swinging on the chandelier, while an elderly woman blows the candles out of her birthday cake. The spirit hovering next to Madge looks like he was pulled out of a Jane Austen novel, complete with top hat.

“I do not know what that means but it must be very good,” he says, raising his eyebrow in question.

Is it weird to think of a ghost as attractive? She pushes the thought out of her head.

“Very good,” she assures him as she claps along to the upbeat song. Well, as upbeat as you can get with the main instrument being the organ. It seems the other band members were taking a break. Who knew?

Mr. Top Hat bids her farewell as he’s beckoned to dance, leaving her to take everything in. She never would have thought she would be inside this place. She avoided the hill that overlooks the town ever since she was a child and learned about the mansion. There were all sorts of rumors: a bride whose five husbands were killed, lived there; a pirate captain hung himself; her personal favorite a psychic who summoned the spirits from all in good fun. Her favorite turned into reality if the party was anything to go by. The only other person that would love this as much as her would be Gale because he believed all the rumors and dared her to go inside.

But wait—Gale was here. Madge turns around but doesn’t see the other living being in the room. How did she not notice that he was gone? Dread replaces the excitement of seeing happy haunts socialize.

_Where in the hell is he?_

He’s nowhere to be found and Madge starts to panic. A mummy with a drink in hand walks near her and she reaches out, waving her arm in front of it to get its attention.

“Have you seen Gale? Tall, alive and breathing?” she asks. The mummy tilts its head, makes a noise and gestures up to the balcony. _He’s up there_.

Relief washes over her and she quickly walks to find the staircase that leads up to the second floor. She’s careful to sidestep any spirit, not wanting to offend anyone by _walking through them_.

The second floor is empty and she finds a door ajar. Why would he go off without her? She’s a little pissed at that and will gladly give him piece of her mind once she finds him. The door leads to the library which just about rivals any public library she’s been to, but she’s not stopping to take a look.

Instead she goes straight for the spiral staircase set near the end of the room. The music from the grand hall fades as she moves closer only to start hearing a familiar song. She can see another door above her and an eerie blue light coming from it. She slowly takes one step at a time. She can hear that someone is playing the piano and it gets louder and louder.

“ _Here comes the bride…_ ”

Madge learns that all the rumors are being proven right. The bride of five ill-fated marriages, Constance is her name Madge has been told, resides in the attic. Why? She’s on the lookout for her next victim.

Madge takes a deep breath and peeks through the door. Various trinkets litter the room and tucked into a corner is the piano, seemingly playing itself but she’s sure a spirit is doing it. Tearing her eyes away from the piano, she sees the bride standing—well, hovering—with a hatchet in her hand, over a very solid figure.

Constance’s next victim—Gale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked that sneak peak, please let me know! Comments and kudos are welcomed! Again, Happy Gadge Day!


	27. Tinder Olympics II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! I know, I know. It's been a long time, but I've started writing again! This is just a lil something to get back into the groove. A continuation of [Chapter 24](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4484939/chapters/17733214). Enjoy!

“What are we going to do with all the condoms?”

Madge snorts and lifts her head from Gale’s bare chest. The condoms in question were thrown onto Johanna’s bed before they had shed their clothes and got down to it.

“We could have a water balloon fight,” she teases while stealing a kiss. “Or we can use them for their intended purpose.”

“I like the water balloon idea.”

She knows he’s joking, but she rolls her eyes as she returns to her spot against his chest. Before she can get comfortable, he nudges her so they’re face to face on the same pillow. He threads his fingers through her hair, lightly scratching her scalp, and all she wants to do is fall asleep because _damn that_ _feels good_. She knows she can’t expect this after every hookup, then again she really doesn’t want to hook up with anyone else besides Gale. Which really isn’t the point of Tinder, is it? _Oh well_. She places her arm around his waist and moves closer so she can give him a quick kiss.

“I better go soon,” he whispers, just as her eyes begin to fall shut. He continues his ministrations, not making a move to get up and dressed.

“Yeah,” she sighs, shifting so she’s back to being on top of him, “you should leave right away.”

He chuckles as he rubs his hands up and down her back. “I’m going.” He doesn’t move so she peppers kisses on his neck and he grips her hips in response. “You make it really hard to get out of this bed.”

She’s ready with a retort, but the sound of her phone going off with a text notification gets their attention. Madge reaches over for it while Gale rests against the pillows, biting his lip because she’s still on top of him.

“It’s from Johanna. ‘I’m all for getting some but are you done with Aquaman yet? I’m about to kill Delly.’”

Gale laughs, sitting up as Madge thinks of what to type back. “If she plans to do that then I think we better get dressed.”

There’s a flare of disappointment but Madge knows he’s right and it wouldn’t be fair to Johanna to keep her out of her own room. She’s such a good friend and teammate. _Give us five minutes_ , she writes back.

“Jo’s only joking,” Madge says as he tosses her underwear to her. “At least I hope so.”

Gale tugs on his sweatpants and scoffs, “Well, Aquaman would like to keep his life and swim in the Olympics.” He takes two steps and cups her face.

“Oh my god,” Madge groans after he kisses her with a grin. “Please do not refer to yourself as Aquaman.”

His grin gets wider if that’s even possible. She shouldn’t have told him what the text said if his ego was going to inflate even more. She gets out of his embrace to grab a shirt and her sleep shorts and he walks into the living room to find his shirt and sweater just as there’s a knock and the door opens and closes.

“Your five minutes are up—well, well, well, Gale Hawthorne.”

Madge can hear the smirk of Johanna and she races out of the room after throwing her hair up in a ponytail to see an embarrassed Gale holding his shirt in front of him and her roommate staring a little too hard.

“Really, Jo? Did you actually time it?” Madge asks. She walks over to stand in front of Gale to shield him from Johanna’s ogling.

“Nope. But if I was with Delly any longer I was going to lose it. Now, I’m going to bed! Goodnight,” she calls out before she shuts the door leading into the bedroom.

“I’m sorry,” Madge says, leading him to the front door. She’s flush with embarrassment. He shrugs as he crosses the threshold and turns to face her.

“It’s okay. Wasn’t that bad,” he assures her. “She didn’t kill me. I had a great time.”

“Me too,” she says. Before she loses her nerve she adds, “We should do it again.”

“And again, and again and again,” he whispers, inching closer and she does as well. She will never deny Gale Hawthorne a kiss.

* * *

 

The extra condoms end up in Johanna’s duffel bag, between her sheets, in her cleats, and finally in her suitcase before Madge runs out of them. She could get more from the vending machines, but that would be cruel to the other Olympians looking to get laid while in Tokyo.

“Cute, Madge. Really fucking cute,” Johanna grumbles after finding two in her softball glove.

“No glove, no love. You’re welcome!”

* * *

 

Gale has his first final tomorrow morning and he finds himself heading down to the training center to swim a few laps to clear his head and calm his nerves. It’s been a few days since his night with Madge and they haven’t had much time to hang out, most of their days are spent training and competing. The most they’ve done since that night was text each other with updates. Madge’s latest text gets him to walk a little faster to the building.

_Katniss dragged me to the gym so this is me saying goodbye_.

Sure it’s a little dramatic but he knows she’s lazy when it comes to working out at a gym and not on a softball field. There are other Olympians taking advantage of all the equipment, but he’s able to spot her jogging on one of the treadmills, listening to her music. He doesn’t see Katniss anywhere as he walks over to Madge. It doesn’t take long for her to notice him judging by the beaming smile she gives him. He smiles back, realizing his nerves aren’t as bad as they were before.

“Hey,” she says, getting off the machine to give him a hug. “Oh, sorry I’m sweating all over you.”

His mind goes back to their night together but he doesn’t say anything. It hadn’t been mentioned in their daily texting even though he really wants to bring it up because he wants to have sex with her again. But he’s not going to shout it out in a room full of people.

“No worries,” he says. “So where’s Katniss? I thought she forced you here?”

Madge puts her index finger to her lips and then points somewhere behind Gale. He turns and sees the woman in question conversing with Canadian boxer Peeta Mellark by the water cooler.

“Is that her boyfriend?” he asks, unsure of why Madge has the biggest smile on her face.

“No, but oh my god I’m hoping something happens because they’ve been flirting non-stop since we got here. And Katniss never flirts. Like ever.”

“You’re really excited about this.”

“Hell yeah I am,” she says, focusing on him now. “What brings you here?”

“I was going to swim for a bit but you’re here so I wanted to see you.”

“Look at you trying to be all sweet,” Madge jokes, poking his chest. He’s proud of his statement and the way she moves closer to him. “Can I watch?”

“Watch me swim?”

She shrugs, “Yeah. Katniss won’t miss me any time soon. I’ll meet you in a bit?”

How can he say no? The pool’s empty so he takes his time with his warmups and waits for her to walk through the doors. He takes another lap when Madge makes her appearance standing near the edge where the starting blocks are. She waves to him and wanting to show off, he lets himself submerge into the water, pushes off the wall, and manages to pop up as he reaches the other end to see Madge shaking her head.

“I’m trying to impress you,” he says as he takes his swim cap and goggles off and hangs onto the edge. He loves her blush and the way she bites her lip.

“You don’t have to,” she replies. Taking a chance of getting wet, she kneels and leans so she’s hovering above him. “So are going to kiss me or do I have to steal it from you?”

Gale huffs in a teasing manner and lifts up so he can press his lips against hers. He smiles when she lets out a little sigh and she retaliates by gently biting his bottom lip. She pulls back so he doesn’t have to strain his arms any longer and he falls back into the water.

“Are you ready for your final tomorrow?” she asks as she stands up. He paddles along the side and she follows.

“Born ready,” he quips, floating on his back. He made it to the final with the fastest time once it was compared to the finalists’ times. He can do this in his sleep. “They don’t call me Aquaman for nothing,” he adds, jokingly.

“Only one person has called you that,” Madge scoffs as he grins up at her.

“I’m going to make it a thing.”

“Please don’t.”

“It’s happening.”

She grabs his towel when he starts the climb out of the pool and he catches her admiring his abs. The funny thing is that she’s not even trying to hide the fact that she’s staring, which he’s totally fine with. Okay, he gets Twitter and Instagram notifications saying how hot he is on a daily basis, but if he’s going to have anyone ogle him it’s going to be her. She hands the towel over and he dries himself off as best as he can. “How did your games go?” 

She heaves a sigh, but smiles. “We won our first two games and we’re playing Australia tomorrow at noon so that should be fun.” She sounds anything but excited about playing tomorrow. The nerves are definitely showing, and Gale can’t stop himself from giving her another kiss. 

“I’m sure you’ll be great,” he whispers. “And if you want, I can offer you a bit of stress relief.”

It doesn’t take long for Madge to get what he’s suggesting. Her expression goes from slight confusion to wide-eye realization so fast it’s almost comical. Her fingertips press against his abdominal muscles, dangerously close to the hem of his swimming trunks. He licks his lips as he grips her forearms because they can’t risk getting walked in on.

“I knew you had ulterior motives,” she jokes, slightly blushing. “Yours or mine?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note: I don't have a god damn clue about what goes on at the Olympics, so go easy on me. Kudos and comments give me the will to write. Find me on tumblr: [lightning5](http://lightning5.tumblr.com/)


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